Arts and Humanities Interventions for Flourishing in Healthy Adults: A Mixed Studies Systematic Review

The arts and humanities have enriched human life in various ways throughout history. Yet, an analysis of empirical research into the effects of arts and humanities engagement remains incomplete, calling for a systematic and integrative understanding of the role of arts and humanities in promoting human flourishing. The present study used a mixed studies systematic review approach to integrating recent evidence from 27 intervention studies on the effectiveness of arts and humanities interventions on psychological flourishing of healthy adults. Our final dataset both represented quantitative and qualitative data on real-world interventions that encompassed a range of arts and humanities domains, including music, theater, visual arts, and integrative arts. A separate quantitative and qualitative data synthesis on study characteristics and psychological flourishing outcomes and a meta-integration of both types of evidence were conducted. Overall, arts and humanities interventions were associated with positive changes in a range of psychological flourishing outcomes, with overlapping quantitative and qualitative evidence for emotional, social, and sense of self outcomes. A secondary analysis explored key contextual and implementation features that contributed to effectiveness. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided based on our review.

Online-Delivered Group and Personal Exercise Programs to Support Low Active Older Adults’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts in mental health science emphasized the importance of developing and evaluating approaches to support and maintain the mental health of older adults. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess whether a group-based exercise program relative to a personal exercise program (both delivered online) and waitlist control (WLC) can improve the psychological health of previously low active older adults during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS The Seniors COVID-19 Pandemic and Exercise (SCOPE) trial was a 3-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted between May and September 2020 in which low active older adults (aged ≥65 years) were recruited via media outlets and social media. After baseline assessments, consented participants were randomized to one of two 12-week exercise programs (delivered online by older adult instructors) or a WLC condition. A total of 241 older adults (n=187 women) provided baseline measures (via online questionnaires), were randomized (n_group=80, n_personal=82, n_control=79), and completed measures every 2 weeks for the duration of the trial. The trial’s primary outcome was psychological flourishing. Secondary outcomes included global measures of mental and physical health, life satisfaction, and depression symptoms. RESULTS The results of latent growth modeling revealed no intervention effects for flourishing, life satisfaction, or depression symptoms (<i>P</i>&gt;.05 for all). Participants in the group condition displayed improved mental health relative to WLC participants over the first 10 weeks (effect size [ES]=0.288-0.601), and although the week 12 effect (ES=0.375) was in the same direction the difference was not statistically significant (<i>P</i>=.089). Participants in the personal condition displayed improved mental health, when compared with WLC participants, in the same medium ES range (ES=0.293-0.565) over the first 8 weeks, and while the effects were of a similar magnitude at weeks 10 (ES=0.455, <i>P</i>=.069) and 12 (ES=0.258, <i>P</i>=.353), they were not statistically significant. In addition, participants in the group condition displayed improvements in physical health when compared with the WLC (ES=0.079-0.496) across all 12 weeks of the study following baseline. No differences were observed between the personal exercise condition and WLC for physical health (slope <i>P</i>=.271). CONCLUSIONS There were no intervention effects for the trial’s primary outcome (ie, psychological flourishing). It is possible that the high levels of psychological flourishing at baseline may have limited the extent to which those indicators could continue to improve further through intervention (ie, potential ceiling effects). However, the intervention effects for mental and physical health point to the potential capacity of low-cost and scalable at-home programs to support the mental and physical health of previously inactive adults in the COVID-19 pandemic. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04412343; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04412343

Humor in aging: is it able to enhance wellbeing in community dwelling older adults?

The present study aimed at examining the effects of humor on community-dwelling older adults’ wellbeing. A humor-based intervention was introduced to older adults - members of the Open Care Center for Older Adults, in order to enhance five components of wellbeing as psychological flourishing (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment). The sample consisted of 40 (20 male, 20 female) participants aged 65-91 years old, screened for depressive symptomatology and objective cognitive impairment. Participants were randomly divided into two groups (experimental / control group), matched in age, gender, and education, and were assigned two different researcher-administered tasks (recollection of humorous events / recollection of early memories) respectively. The Positive Psychological Intervention (PPI) of humor and the control condition lasted one month. Wellbeing was measured by the PERMA Profiler instrument at three times (pretest, posttest, follow-up). The results regarding the specific components of wellbeing as psychological flourishing showed that only the participants in the experimental condition tended to score higher in the posttest assessment compared to the pretest measurement and these results remained relatively unaffected one month after the intervention (follow-up). Hence a humor-based intervention could indeed contribute to the improvement of wellbeing as psychological flourishing in aging.

Socioecological Predictors on Psychological Flourishing in the US Adolescence

This study examined the relationship between children’s flourishing and socioecological factors, including individual and family characteristics. A total of 45,309 children were drawn from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health in the US (mean age = 13.6 years; male: 51.28%). An ordinary least square (OLS) regression was performed to examine the association between socioecological variables and flourishing. This study assessed children’s individual needs (such as health, education, and emotional and behavioral development), their parents’ parenting capacity (the ability to provide basic care and safety), and family factors (presence of community resources and family income). Children’s individual characteristics, parent’s capacities, and family functions were found to be significantly associated with children’s flourishing. In conclusion, multilevel socioecological factors appeared to be associated with children’s flourishing. Hence, parents’ involvement in their children’s physical activities, as well as family and social support, is crucial for children’s flourishing. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature as research is lacking a correlation between socioecological factors and children’s flourishing; in particular, very few studies have explored or investigated the manner by which children’s socioecological health indicators and factors are associated with their flourishing.

The prospective effect of purpose in life on gambling disorder and psychological flourishing among university students

Background and aimsGambling disorder (GD) is a mental disorder with a relatively higher prevalence in university students compared to adolescents and adults. Its reciprocity with mental being indicators, such as psychological flourishing, would be expected, but prior to this study had not yet been empirically examined. In addition, the predictive value of purpose in life (PIL) on university students' GD and psychological flourishing also remained unknown. This 1-year longitudinal study was the first to test the potential bidirectional relationships among PIL, self-reported GD symptoms, and psychological flourishing.MethodsIn this study, a total of 283 university students (39.6% females; age = 18–27 years, M = 20.47, SD = 1.15) completed an anonymous questionnaire at both baseline and a year later in a follow-up study.ResultsThe results of our cross-lagged analysis did not show the hypothesized reciprocity between GD symptoms and psychological flourishing (P > 0.05). However, PIL significantly predicted fewer GD symptoms (β = −0.23, P < 0.001) and higher levels of psychological flourishing (β = 0.30, P < 0.001) in the follow-up study. Moreover, psychological flourishing predicted PIL a year later.ConclusionThe findings demonstrate the potential efficacy of purpose/meaning oriented interventions in gambling prevention and in well-being promotion programs.

Outcomes of Organizational and Community Embeddedness: A Conservation of Resources Perspective

Drawing on Conservation of Resources and spillover theories, we empirically examine work and community outcomes of both organizational and community embeddedness and the underlying mechanism whereby the two forms of embeddedness influence both domain-specific and cross-domain outcomes. With data from 165 matched pairs of employees and their colleagues from a Midwestern US organization, we found that organizational and community embeddedness influence specific individual behaviors both within and across their respective domains. Additionally, we found support for the mediating role of psychological flourishing in the relationships between embeddedness and various organizational and community outcomes. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings, as well as suggestions for future research.

Organizational Spirituality and Employee Volunteering: A Study of Mediating Variables

The study examines the influence of organizational spirituality (OS; specifically, the spiritual value of welfare and wellness of others) on employees’ intention to volunteer for organization-supported community development programmes through investigating affective organizational commitment and psychological flourishing as intervening variables. The study uses a questionnaire-based survey design, drawing upon the sample of 288 employees from the Indian telecom sector. We assess a multiple-mediation model using PLS-SEM. Overall, the results confirm the strong total indirect effect of OS on employee volunteering intention (EVI). This article contributes to the literature on employee volunteering by directing attention towards examining the effect of organizational-level factor of spiritual values on EVI. Contribution is also made to the literature on OS by highlighting its benefits for not only the employee and the organization but also the wider community/society.